Cooling tower



Mar. 27, 1923- E. BURHORN COOLING TOWER INVENTOR.

2AM B wvaow ATTORNEYS.

Filed May 28,

Patented Mar. 27, 1923.

UNlTED STATES PATENT FFME.

EDWIN BUBHORN, OF HOIBOKEN, NEW JERSEY.

COOLING TOWER.

Application filed May 28,

the latter being caused to .pass by gravity through the tower while subjected to the cooling influence. -Moreespecially the in vention relates to the class of cooling towers in which the descent of the warm water is interrupted and delayed by means of one or more structures or cooling decks arranged at various points in the height of the tower for the purpose of preventing a too rapid passage of the water and failure to sufliciently .cool the same.

The general object of the present invention is to improve the construction and operation of cooling towers of the kind referred to. A particular object is to afford a superior arangement of louvers for such a tower adapted to minimize the loss of water from the tower. A substantial loss of water has occurred with towers of the kind shown, for example, in my prior Patent No. 1,252; 774. The water impinging upon the members constituting the several cooling decks has tended to splash upwardly and out wardly, especially at the lee side of the tower, so as to splash between the inclined louvers and be wasted. With a strong flow of atmospheric air, the descending water has a constant trend toward the lee side so that, especially at the lower part of the tower, the water is quite concentrated and strikes the deck members with force, with the result mentioned. The present invention obviates this difficulty and prevents any water being lost from the tower by splashing. Other objects and advantages of the invention herein disclosed will appear in the following description or will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

To the attainment of the above referred to objects and advantages, the present in- 1921. Serial No. 473,446.

vention consists in the novel combination, arrangements, constructions, devices and other features shown or described herein;

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a cooling tower embodying my invention, the a same partly broken away and certain parts omitted to more clearly disclose the features of invention.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the corner portion of the apparatus of Figure 1, with the upper parts omitted and the corner post shown in cross section.

Figure 3, in elevation and section, shows a modification wherein the collecting pan is of greater extent than in Figures 1 and 2.

Figure 4 is a plan view of the apparatus shown in Figure 3. J

Above a suitable supporting base 9 are thetower uprights or corner posts 10, and these at the top are inter-connected by the cross members 11. .Along each of the four sides is a series of louvers 12, the particular construction and arrangement of which will be more fully described. Many of the louvers are omitted for simplicity of illustration. At the base is. a collecting pan 14, from which a drain pipe 15 conducts the water back to the condenser or other apparatus. When the water has become heated it may be returned to the cooling tower by a pipe 16 which carries the water to a distributing cross-pipe 17 at the top, supported by brackets 18 and having apertures 19 serving as orifices to discharge the water in the form of sprays upon or into distributing members or troughs of the topmost deck 21. In addition to the topmost deck, there may be other decks 22, 23 or 24 spaced suitably apart so that the desecending water is caught and distributed by each deck and delayed in its descent, so as to insure maximum cooling by contact with natural air currents and by evaporation.

The topmost deck 21 may consist of Water troughs 26 arranged to receive water from the distributer pipe, and having overflow notches 27 to deliver the Water in many small streams throughout the area of the tower. The troughs may. be supported on beams 28.

At each deck below the topmost I have shown the principle of employing plain bars cooling due to evaporation.

Assuming a strong wind blowing from the left, the general trend of the descending water would be toward the right side of the tower, and this is here indicated by the diagrammatic lines showing the descending water. The water striking in volume upon the bars 30 near the right side of the tower splashes in all directions, and a substantial part of this would tend to splash out between the louvers if of the hereto- 4 fore known kind. This'defect is obviated by the herein illustrated novel louver arrangement.

Each louver 12 consists of the main or outer portion or surface 35, arranged at a substantial forty-five degrees slant and cxtending at the side of the tower from corner to corner. over into a. curr e 36 at the top edge, and it is also bent at the bottom edge to form a gutter 37. A louver containing only the portions 35, 36 and 37, would. not prevent the water from splashing out, and the dotted lines indicating the movements of the water will show that particles thereof would tend to pass out through the forty-five degree passage between two adjacent louvers.

The present louver is characterized by having an inward extension 38 giving the louver as a whole what may be described as a V-shape in cross section. The inner section 38 may commence at the gutter 37 and extend upwardly, referably at a slant, as shown, so as to block any possiblity" of. water splashing out. The extreme upper end of the portion 38 is shown as bent into a curve 39.

The outer section 35 is formed with a flange 40 at. each end for attaching the louver to the uprights 10.

Each louver may be constructed as a. trough, as shown in Figures 1 and 2-, by means of end pieces 41 extending across from one section to the other of the louver. This end piece also gives support to the inner louver sections, and this support is enhanced by means of a strap 43 consisting of a strip of metal secured to the end piece 41 and extending upwardly to where its other end is connected to theattachments which attach the flange of the next higher louver to the uprights. The tie or strap 43 which braces each end of the louver section 38 could be dispensed with by otherwise stifiening the construction.

- louvers.

The section 35 is shown as bent It will thus be seen that I have described a cooling .tower comprising a series of spaced apart decks and a series of louvers shaped and arranged to preclude water passing out between the louvers, thus embodying the principles and attaining the advantages of the present improvement. The main louver section 35 prevents descending water passingout while the inward extension 38 prevents water splashing out or entering the air passage between each two The main section and extension are shown as arranged at different slants. The main section may be described as having a downward-inward slant while the inner section has an upward-inward slant. Specifically the two are arranged so that in cross section they present the shape. of the letter V. These form a gutter between them which discharges in one way or another so that the water will pass to the collecting pan. Many matters of construction,'combination and arrangement may be variously modified without departing from the principles and therefore ,it is not intended to limit the invention except in so far as set forth in the appended claims.

NVhat is claimed is:

1. In a cooling tower adapted to cause natural air currents to be brought into contact with the Water to be cooled, means at the upper part of the tower for distributing the water, a series of spaced apart cooling decks arranged in thepath of the descending water, and at each side of the tower a series of substantially horizontal louvers each shaped with two portions so arranged 'in difl'erent planes as to preclude water passing out between'the louvers.

2. Tower as in claim 1 and wherein the several louvers extend horizontally from corner to corner, each having a main section preventing descending water passing out and an inner extension preventing water splashing out. 7

3. Tower as in claim 1 and wherein the louversv are parallel V-shape louvers arranged so that the inner part of each louver prevents water entering the air passage between each two louvers.

4. In a cooling tower operating by natural air currents, a collecting pan, a frame comprising uprights, cooling decks supported in said frame, and louvers extending from upright to upright spaced substantially apartwith free air space between for the flow of natural air currents, each louver comprising a part slanted downward-inwardly and a part slanted upward-inwardly, saidcooling decks being arranged in the space between the opposite sides of the tower, and means for distributing water to pass down from deck to deck throughout such space.

5. Tower asin claim 4 and wherein the two slanted louver parts form a. gutter between them discharging through apertures from louver to louver and from the bottom louver into the collecting pan.

6. In {L cooling tower, a coilevting pan. :1,

53 frame comprising uprights, cooline decks supported in said frame, and louvers each comprising a mam portion extending from upright to upright, and an inward extension braced by a tie or strap from an upright at each end.

in testimony whereof. i have afiixed my signature hereto.

E DWI BURHURN. 

